All or Nothing
by baby-kitsune9
Summary: Eleven year old Kira's parents were killed the night she met the turtles. The same night that she was taken in by them and made a part of their small family. They adored her- she was their little princess. So why was it that they got so wound up and pissed off at the thought of her finally becoming a woman? Definately a harem story. R&R please.
1. Chapter 1

Okay the turtles in this story start out as 15-16 yrs of age

Kira- 11

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It was raining, the droplettes pouring down from the sky like tears.

Mixing with the tears falling from her eyes as she half walked/half staggered down the street with her favorite toy in her arms. The gnash in her leg was dripping blood onto the sidewalk, causing every anonymous passerbuy walking past her to either look down at her in horror or disgust.

She cried harder when a man in a buisness suit ran into her, knocking her down then demanded an apology when she was too numb to bother giving one. Her mom and dad were in trouble, and she couldn't find anyone to help them.

_Why?_

Why wouldn't anyone believe her when she said that her parents were in trouble? Did she look like she was joking with her clothes torn and her toy bunny and leg all bloody? And what about the bruise on her face from where she had been hit earlier before her parents had helped her escape?

Ducking her head she wiped at her eyes with one hand, clearing them as her dark hair fell into her face. Hiding her forest green/teal eyes from view. Up ahead was an alley that she could duck into, perhaps take a moment or so to breathe before trying to find help again.

Walking up to the enterance of the alley, she hesitated for a moment when she heard voices from inside the inky darkness. But having grown up in the city, she figured that the voices were from some homeless people trying to stay warm. Stepping into the alley she was unaware of the attention she was getting from the four pairs of eyes from the rooftop of one of the buildings overhead.

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It was a typical night for them.

Go for a run, beat up some Dragons or Foot nins, then go home and get some sleep. And that would have been a typical night for them- if Don hadn't suggested several weeks ago after a confrontation with the Dragons whom were apparently peddling something new on the streets- to check several different Dragon gangs for weapons or drug activity.

It had taken Leo a bit of weighing the pros and cons before relenting. Which was why they were currently out in the pouring rain, wearing the water proof parka's that Don had made specially for them along with some other cool new stuff to help keep them warm on nights when it rained and the temperature dropped.

Leo had been pacing for the better part of an hour while Don and Mikey did serveilance. Raph was doing kata's a few feet away when Don suddenly shifted from his spot on his stomach and tapped Mikey on the shoulder.

Mikey zeroed in on what Don took a moment to point at and let out a low angry hiss.

Curious to know what their brother's saw, Leo and Raph walked over to where they were just in time to see a kid- maybe twelve or so... A civilian. A female- duck into the alley carrying a little stuffed bunny rabbit tightly clutched in one small hand. Her dark hair falling to the middle of her back.

Her clothing was nothing fancy from the looks of it. It was just a nice lavender dress with lace on it, hardly what a child would wear out in this weather. Come to think of it, what was a child as young as this one doing out in this weather dressed as she was? Shouldn't she be at home? All snuggly in her bed?

And where were her parents? Did she get seperated from them? Leo wondered when Don suddenly said, "Uh-oh." And quickly shot to his feet, his hand going for the bo attached to his shell as Mikey jumped up with a muttered oath. Leo looked at the two like they had lost their minds just a moment before Raph stepped off of the building and let himself free fall down to the pavement below.

Mikey soon followed suit as Leo peered over the edge and saw what had gotten his brothers so riled. His dark eyes flashed gold for a moment in anger and he gnashed his teeth at the site.

The little girl had been noticed by the Dragons and was surrounded ten to one. _Goddammit! _He thought as Don disappeared, leaving only him to join in as he heard the distinctive sounds of battle from below and threw himself off of the building knowing that his brothers were going to need his help.

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She didn't think she had ever been so scared before in her life as she had been when the mean looking men had surrounded her. Though this was definitly a close second to earlier with her parents. Still the fact that she had to hunch in on herself and back away from one of the men when he pulled out a knife did frighten her quite a bit.

So much so that she didn't notice the other guy to her left until he grabbed her by a tufft of hair, causing her to scream and jerk as she slapped his hand hard enough to make him release her that she had realized that that had been what the men had been waiting for. The guy with the knife grinned at her and reared back his hand- the glint of metal caught in the faint street light- and she felt all of the blood leave her face.

She was going to die here. In this dirty alley, among the garbage and rats without finding anyone to help her parents.

The hand started to come down and she opened her mouth to scream, her numb mind trying to get her to duck, dodge, move dammit! **_Move!_ **But she was too afraid to do more than double over with her bunny held to her chest and whimper.

It took her more than a moment or so to realize that she could hear the sounds of metal clanging and men screaming in fear a second before she was grabbed up by a strong arm and suddenly thrust into someone's waiting grip.

She opened her mouth to scream again, suddenly fearing that there was a fate worse than death awaiting her when she heard a soft voice 'shush' her and felt something warm cover her shaking body and heard that soft voice say, "You have to be quiet or they'll find us." As a large hand rubbed her back through the material that had been thrown over her as the noise finally quieted down before she heard,

"Don you can come out now. The Purple dragons are gone."

"Don" stepped out of the shadows he had been blending in with and scanned the faces of his brothers. "Was anyone hurt?" He asked. There was a quick series of_ no's_ from the three before they turned their attention to the girl as Don put her down.

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The first thing she noticed when she looked up at the one whom had been holding her, was that he had olive green skin.

Or at least that was part of what she could make out in the dark- it was a little hard to see. But the second thing she noticed was warm dark brown eyes peering down at her. "Hey... Are you okay?" 'Don' asked as he put his hand on top of her head as if to ruffle her hair.

She sniffled and lifted her head a little more to look him square in the eye like her mom had taught her too and shook her head, unable yet to speak when she heard him say, "Hey, you're hurt-" His tone almost sounding like an accusation to her as he gently grasped her arm and lifted it so that he could see the wound.

The second his large hand made contact with her skin she gasped causing him to jerk his hand back. The two of them were silent for a moment before he questioned tentatively, "You noticed?"

She nodded her head wondering if she had just gone from the frying pan to the fire. But he just nervously stuttered, "If you want I can treat your wound." Reaching out she grasped his hand in both of hers and tried to pull him back the way she had come. Figuring that if he and his friends had helped her then maybe they could help her parents too.

"What? What is it?" One of the others asked as she continued to try and pull 'Don' towards the exit of the alley.

"Momma! Daddy!" She said in an urgent tone when she finally managed to find her voice. One of the others walked over to her and knelt down as he placed his large hands on her shoulders and asked,

"Where are your mom and dad? Did you get seperated from them?"

"Docks! Men with guns! They said to run." She said, her eyes tearing up again as she saw the unknown person narrow his sapphire eyes slightly before shushing her in the same gentle tone that 'Don' had used.

"Can you show us where?" The unknown guy asked as she nodded her head and he stood up slowly and seemed to exchange a look with the others. "Alright. Let us get our gear from the rooftop and we'll go.


	2. Chapter 2

_It had been an accident. _

_Nothing more could explain what happened once they had reached the docks and had the little girl jump out of the battleshell and run across the pavement screaming for her parents before any of them could stop her._ _But they had followed nevertheless. Heedless of the consequences._ _It wasn't until they finally managed to catch up with her that they realized they were too late. _

_There standing at the edge of the docks was the girl, staring down into the dark murky waters that were now mixed with the blood of the two adults floating face down there with part of the back of their skulls missing. _

_Don was the first to reach her, his warm brown eyes going wide in horror at the sight of pale lifeless skin painted with various colors from bruising and burns and blood. Reaching out automatically he grabbed the little girl around the waist and swung her around so that she couldn't see the two corpses as his brothers skidded to a stop just within arms reach of him, each with horrified looks on their faces. _

_"Oh man-" Mikey said as all color drained from his face, leaving it a sickly chalky grey-green color._

_"Be quiet." Raph snapped at him, his body fairly shaking with rage as he fisted his hands at his sides. _

_Leo turned his back on the scene for a moment, unable to stand seeing the humans in such a pitiful state before turning to Don whom was still holding onto the girl, his expression sad as he whispered something to her and started to hide her eyes with his free hand when she buried her face against his shoulder and wailed in grief. _

_God what were they going to do with her? Leo wondered as he told Don to set her down for a moment. His younger brother looked at him strangely but complied as Leo knelt down and asked her quietly, _

_"Do you have any other family? Someone that we can call to take care of you?" __She hiccupped and looked at him through red rimmed eyes. Eyes that had seen far too much for one so young, and finally shook her head no. There was no one. _

_She was alone now. _

_The thought of her living on the streets, foraging for food, fighting for her life didn't sit well with Leo as he reached out and very gently wrapped her in his arms and hugged her. Feeling that if there was ever any time someone needed a hug- it was now. _

_"Okay. Okay, I get it. Let me make some calls and we'll find someone to take care of you." He said gently before letting her go and letting Don pick her back up again and then ordered Mikey to place a call to the police. _

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That had been a little over an hour ago before they had found themselves on their way to Aprils so that they could get the little girl out of her wet clothes before she caught a cold or something. Once the battleshell was parked in front of April's building, the four mutants climbed out of the vehicle with Leo carrying the girl whom had started to go into shock.

Moving quickly, the four scaled the fire escape and managed to get up to April's window where the red head was waiting for them with towels and some fresh, dry clothing for their little passenger. Climbing through the window, Leo gave April a disheartened greeting and set the girl down. April took a quick look at her before kneeling down and draping a towel over her head and saying.

"Hi sweetheart. My friends tell me that you've had a rough night."

The girl looked at the red head blankly. Almost as to say, 'duh' as Leo asked politely, "Could you make her a cup of hot chocolate while Don and I see to her wound and stuff?"

"Oh, sure. Do you want me to make some for you guys too?"

"If it isn't too much trouble."

"Alright. Let me just put the clean clothes I dug out for her in the bathroom first." April said as she got up and left the room as the other turtles were coming in.


	3. Chapter 3

The moment April left the bathroom she passed both Don and Leo whom were walking with the little girl and talking to her in low soothing tones, hoping to get a reaction from her. Unfortunately nothing they said seemed to reach her. She had retreated into her mind. Far, far away from the hurt and pain of what had happened to her parents.

Once in the bathroom Leo bent down and picked the girl up while Don dug out the first aid kit so that he could treat the wound on her arm, and set her down on the sink counter within Don's reach. Sapphire eyes met warm brown for a moment as Leo asked, "Do you need me to stay?"

"No. I think I got it." Don said as he opened the first aid kit and looked through it. Leo frowned and hesitated to leave the room. His heart aching at the sight of the little girl's blank expression.

Tonights events never should have happened. He thought bitterly as he watched Don take out some bandages and an alcohol swab so that he could clean the wound on the girl's arm.

She should still have her parents, a home- everything that she now no longer had due to someone else's anger or greediness.

He must have been really deep in thought because one moment he was thinking about the girl and the next he had olive green fingers snapping in front of his face as Don said his name repeatedly. "Leo? Leo? Earth to big brother." Leo blinked and looked at Don, his expression questioning for a moment as Don said,

"Why don't you go see if April needs help or something. Or maybe check on Mikey and Raph and make sure that they aren't trying to tear the place apart."

"Oh...right-" Leo said almost absently as he turned and opened the bathroom door and paused just long enough to ask, "While you're in here do you think you can get her name or something?"

Don glanced at the little girl then back at his elder brother. He supposed that he could try to get the girl's name, but in her current state she might not answer any of his inquiries. And then there was the fact that they didn't know why her parents had been murdered or by whom... So they had some questions about that as well.

"I'll try, but I can't make any promises." Don said. Leo nodded tersely then slipped out the door leaving Don with his tasks. "Your pretty out of it right now aren't you?" Don said as he turned back to the girl and leaned down so that they were eye level. She was worrying him. Sure he knew that different people dealt with grief differently- but for a child to have lost everything in one night?

For the bodies of her late parents corpses to be burned into her little mind... He wasn't sure that he could help her as things were right this second, but he'd be damned if he didn't give it his best try. After all, she _needed_ someone to lean on and help take her mind off of what had happened.

Luckily for her, he and his brothers were experts at helping people like her.

Taking her wounded arm gently in his grasp he began cleaning the wound while watching her face for any signs of discomfort that he knew she must be feeling from the alcohol swab. All he got in reaction to cleaning the wound was a small hiss like inhale.

There was nothing else. No jerking or squirming. No tears.

Just how far had she retreated into her own mind that she wouldn't react to physical pain? He wondered as he started to speak to her. To tell her about himself and his brothers. Hoping to coax her into responding to him just a little bit.

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Leo walked into the kitchen and took one look at Raph and Mikey sitting with their heads bowed while April fixed some hot chocolate for the little girl, and felt the need to drop himself into one of the chairs at Aprils table and cry on the girl's behalf. God if only they hadn't taken the time to collect the surveillance equipment then the girl's parents may still be alive.

"How's the kid?" Raph asked in a rough tone nearly causing Leo to jump out of his shell as he looked at his twin brother. Both April and Mikey were looking at him expectantly, holding their breaths and looking hopeful.

"She's in shock, obviously. And isn't feeling terribly chatty." Leo said harsher tone than he intended. Raph didn't say anything more, he just stared at him for a second before dropping his head again.

This was one of the things he hated about being a ninja. Sure they went out and risked their lives- maybe even saved a hand few of people each night- but in a situation like they were in now, it simply wasn't enough.

It would never _be_ enough. And because of that- because of their failure- the little girl was now an orphan. Sighing Leo ran his hands over the top of his head, an action that gave away his aggitation and asked, "What do we do now?"

"We need to find someone to take the kid."

April turned to glance at the guys knowing what was coming next and shook her head when she caught them staring at her almost pleadingly. _Nuh-uh, no way, no how, never! _She wasn't ready to be a mother yet! Even if this was the less painful way of gaining a child, she still wasn't going to do it.

"No." She said sternly, still shaking her head.

"But April-"

"I said no. God guys- I'm not mother material! I work too much and she'd be alone most of the time!"

"But if you don't take her, then who will?"

"Here's an idea-" April snapped as she pulled the cup of hot chocolate out of the microwave and slammed the cup down on the kitchen table causing all three turtles to flinch as she then growled, "How about you take her!"


	4. Chapter 4

All three turtles looked at April wide eyed, their expressions horrified before Leo stuttered, "B-But April, we aren't baby sitters! What do we know about taking care of human kids?"

"Nothing-" April said as she crossed her arms over her chest and stared them down with a sly smirk. "So it's a good thing that you're fast learners. Besides... I've heard all of you say at one time or another that you wanted a kid sister."

"What? No we didn't! You're making that up!" Raph snapped at her and was silenced when April said,

"Gah that Mikey- I might not hurt him for his pranks if he was a girl. Yeah, I could definitely go for a kid sister." In an perfect immitation of him and his voice. Raph flushed with embarassment as Mikey and Leo slowly turned to look at him. Their eyes accusing as Raph quickly averted his eyes thought,_ Well_...that was the definite nail in their collective coffin right there.

There was simply no way to argue away what he had been thinking at the time he had said those words. Sure he had sort of meant them, but at the same time exposing a little girl to their way of life would be difficult. She would have to be protected twenty four/seven from their enemies whom would seek to use her as a means to destroy them.

"Raph..." Mikey said in a hurt tone that drew his older brothers eyes to his face. Did Raph really want a sister that badly? And then there was Splinter- What would he think of April's plan for them to adopt the little girl into their family? He wasn't as young as he used to be. Would he even feel up to raising another child? And a human one at that.

One with different needs for food, clothing, affection... Her education and social needs alone would cause them endless problems. After all, once she got older she would want to seek out the company of other humans. Which would leave them with a gaping hole in their hearts.

Sighing Leo pulled out his shellcell and laid it on April's table and looked her dead in the eye. "I'll make a deal with you April, I'll tell Splinter about our failure tonight to save the girl's parents and then if he says to bring her home..." He looked at both of his brothers, feeling more than a little bit nervous since Splinter might actually have them bring the kid home so that they could take responsibility for their failure. But he gritted his teeth and said the final sentance almost as if it were a death sentance. "Then she'll be our kid sister from now on."

Reaching over to where the shellcell lay, April picked it up, flicked it open and quickly dialed Splinter's number and handed it to the almost gaping blue banded turtle. _Geez!_ What was it with April's inablility to read empty gestures? Leo wondered as his father's groggy voice sounded in his ear...

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"See. That's better right? It's nice and clean and will heal without leaving much of a scar. That'd be nice, wouldn't it?" Don said gently as he grabbed up a towel and started to dab at the water running down the girl's face and neck from her hair. He'd been talking to her almost non stop since Leo had left the room and still didn't get any reaction from her. Nor had she spoken up to give him a name to call her by.

She was simply 'the kid' or 'the girl' to him. But it was such an impersonal way to think that he felt that he absolutely had to get her to say something. Give him a sign perhaps that she was still in that small body of hers somewhere.

Setting the towel aside for a moment he framed her face with his large hands and tipped her little head back so that her vacant stare was fixed on him and said, "You're going to be okay. No matter what happens from here on out- my brothers and I won't let anyone hurt you like this again." He held his breath and waited for a second, and for a moment, a very brief moment he could have sworn that he saw a small spark of life come back into her eyes.

But it was gone as quickly as it appeared. Still...that was a good sign.

It meant that on some level she believed him. Or at the very least wanted too.

Releasing her, he draped the towel over her shoulders, letting part of it rest on top of her head and started to rub so that he could dry her off some more. Finally after several moments he paused to check his work and then picked up the shirt that April had pulled out for her to change in. "Okay kiddo- If I turn my back for a minute do you think you can pull this one by yourself?" Don asked as he pressed the shirt into one of her little hands.

The girl looked down at it for a moment then back up at him and made an aggrieved sound that had his lips curving up into a small smile. "I know. I know. This is irritating stuff for someone who already has frayed emotions but you can't run around in that sopping wet dress. You'll get sick." Don said as he turned his back to her.

He could hear her moving down off of the counter, and peeling the wet dress from her skin and letting it hit the floor when he suddenly felt slender fingers dancing across his lower shell, dangerously close to his tail. Jerking slightly, he turned his head and looked down, just barely able to see the top of her dark head as she ran her little fingers along the grooves in his shell almost in a petting manner that made him wonder if she was curious about him and his appearance.

Clearing his throat to keep from churring- after all, that'd be a weird reaction to have to a little kid- he asked in a rough tone, "You decent?" When he still got no reply from her he turned around and almost laughed at the adorable site he beheld.

The shirt that April had gotten for her to change into practically swallowed her whole. The sleeves were so long that she had to struggle with them just to use her hands and the little black cat and witch on the front of the dark purple fabric was just- just so cute!

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Leo hung up the phone with a look of almost absolute dread on his face as he slowly turned his head to glance at his brothers. _Oh crap. _How could Splinter decide to raise the kid as one of their own without even seeing her? Wouldn't that place their family in danger? Her parents had been killed for a reason after all.

And the joy he had heard in his father's voice upon the prospect of having a girl to raise... He had made Leo feel like he and his brothers were savages or something. They weren't savages, they just needed to polish their people skills a bit.

Still... One problem at a time. And right now they had a whole mountain of them.

"Well?" April asked smugly, probaly noticing how all of the color had leeched from his face as his talk with Splinter had gone on. Sighing he slipped the phone back into the pouch on his belt and said,

"Splinter wants to raise her."

The second the words left his mouth both Mikey and Raph paled, the full ramifications of Splinter's decision hitting them hard. "Okay April, you win-" Leo said in a slightly angry tone. "We'll raise her."


	5. Chapter 5

"Look who I have here." Don called out as he came into the livingroom carrying the girl in his arms. Everyone came out of the kitchen just as he put her on her feet. "Isn't she cute in this shirt?" Don prattled on, probably trying to distract the girl from the trauma of losing her family by talking to her as much as possible.

"Just like a little witch- All she needs is a little black cat and a flying broom..." He continued on indicating the shirt pattern as his three brothers looked at the girl with expressions varying from alarm, panic and the ever popular, awe.

"Ugh...Don can I have a second-" Leo asked, trying to control the emotions within him. Dear god, a baby sister. He had a baby sister now. What was he going to do? Taking care of Raph, Don and Mikey was difficult enough. How was he supposed to bring this girl home and help raise and protect her from so many evils?

Don blinked at him and stopped his prattling about possible future Halloween costumes for her. "Sure, Leo- Just give me a second." Don said as he quickly looked down at the girl whom had grabbed one of his fingers and was sqeezing hard enough to let him know that she was anxious about him leaving her alone for a moment or longer.

Carefully Don tried to extract his finger from her grasp and wound up having to struggle for it in a small tug-of-war that ended when Mikey stepped forward and wrapped an arm around her waist and made her let go of him. After which he sat on the couch with the girl and settled her in his lap as April walked into the room with the mug of hot chocolate and handed it to him.

Mikey mumbled a quiet thanks then leaned forward a little bit and set the mug down on the coffee table in front of him and started talking, tentatively at first. "Hi."

The girl looked at him blankly and he gave her an sorry attempt at a smile and quickly looked at Raph who jumped in and tried to help his tongue tied baby brother. "Hey sweetie-" He said as he took one of her little hands in his and smiled at her. Somehow amazed that she hadn't screamed in his face just yet. "My name is Raph, and dat guy you're sitting on is my little brother Mikey. What's your name?"

She blinked at him for a moment then slipped her hand up to his wrist and pulled it in close and used her fingers to write out her name against his palm, _K-i-r-a_. Raph waited until she was done before frowning a bit. He was a little sketchy on how to communicate by writing on someone's palm, but he could have sworn that she had spelled out Kira.

"Kira? Your name's Kira?" She locked eyes with him, forest green clashing with his amber, and nodded her head slowly as Don and Leo finally came out of the kitchen and looked at the three strangely for a moment before walking over and slipping his hands under Kira's arms and lifting her out of Mikey's lap and held her against him, using one arm for her to sit on while she curled her fingers around the top of his plasteron as he bent down at the waist a bit, and picked up the cup of hot chocolate and held it up.

"I can still feel how cold you are. I need you to drink as much of this as you can and let it warm you some, then you get to come home with us." Kira looked from the cup to Don's face and quickly shook her head no. Her lips thinning as she did so.

Ah, so there was a stubborn streak in her. That was good. With them to help her focus it as she grew, she would have a will nearly as unbendable as their father's.


	6. Chapter 6

Two weeks later-

Don was sitting at his computer desk working on a new prototype weapon to use against the Foot when he heard the distinct sound of a small hand rapping on his lab door and turned his head to see his recently adopted sibling Kira standing in the doorway with the covers from her bed wrapped around her shaking body.

"Kira?" He said as he blinked a few times and wondered if he was imagining her presence so late at night. Frowning, he pushed back from his desk and stood up and walked over to his baby sister, concern etched into his expression. "Kira, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be asleep?" He asked as he knelt down and started to reach for her when she quickly backed away.

Don froze in mid motion and got a sad expression on his face.

No matter how much he and the others tried to get Kira to understand that they weren't going to hurt her, she still sometimes reacted to them with fear. And it hurt. Especially when they were trying to be patient and kind and allow her some time to get used to them and their overprotective personalities.

He gave her a small smile to show her that he wasn't insulted by her subtle retreat from him and was startled when she put one hand out and put it against his shell, right over his heart and looked up at him with sad, sad eyes. It was her way of apologizing.

And it was almost more than he could bear. She shouldn't be apologizing. Not after the trauma that she went through...

"Trauma-" He said absently before asking, "You had a nightmare, didn't you?"

Kira nodded slowly as she lowered her hand from his shell and looked down at her bare feet as he sighed. "Oh Kira..." He said gently as he snatched her up off of the floor, earning a soft squeak from her as she wrapped her little arms around his neck and hung on to him like he were her life line. It had been like this since the night that he and his brothers had brought her home.

She had just seemed to identify with him and Splinter more than the others.

It wasn't because of anything that they had done. It was simply that Leo and Raph were too intense. Just like Mikey was far too hyper. Kira seemed to like calm and soothing personalities. Which was all well and good but it created a gap in their family dynamics that Splinter was already trying to fix by having all of them sleep in the same room with Kira until she was used to their presence.

The only few drawbacks to his plan was 1) Splinter didn't have to sleep in the same room, 2) Kira wasn't a sound sleeper most of the time due to the nightmares she had, 3) Raphael blew his top almost every night at bedtime- which didn't help..._at all_.

Which was why Don had been mostly inclined lately to stay in his lab and work. With the exception of sleep and Kira's late night terrors that is.

Making his way over to the cot against the far side of the wall of his lab he placed Kira down on it and wrapped her tightly in her blanket and said, "Stay here and I'll be right back." Kira watched him almost warily as he turned and made his way back to his computer and quickly shut it off. Figuring that he could use some shut eye himself, he'd help Kira sleep by letting her curl up against him.

Just anything he could do to help her feel more protected and less scared.

Once he was done, he made his way back to the cot and patted Kira on the shoulder and whispered, "Scoot over-" And waited patiently as she did so before he climbed into the bed beside her and wrapped his arms around her and said, "Ya know when my brothers and I were little, our dad used to hold us all like this when we were scared. And now that we're older- we can use this same method to protect you from the monsters in your head..." He brushed a strand of dark hair away from her face and smiled faintly in the darkness as he hugged her a little closer before saying, "Now close your eyes and try to get some sleep. I'll protect you."

Kira squirmed for a second then settled down and did as he told her too and was asleep within minutes.


	7. Chapter 7

Don didn't know how much sleep he managed to get that night since Kira had another nightmare and woke him at least once, crying quietly against his side. Her face twisted in anguish.

After that it took about an hour to settle her down again before he managed to doze off again himself. Which was probably why he was so reluctant to wake up again when he felt a thick index finger tapping him on the shoulder in the universal sign that Leo had created to wake him and the others on days when they had ninjutsu practice.

Goaning Don cracked one dark eye open and sort of glared at the person leaning over him when he heard Leo whisper, "Easy Don, it isn't time for practice yet. I was just trying to find Kira since she was missing from her bed again."

Don sighed and managed to open two bleary eyes to look the girl over. Kira lay on her back, the knuckles of one small hand touching his plasteron while her other hand rested under her cheek, her fingers curled just so. Her long dark hair a tangled mass around her little head- she was dead to the world after the night she had had.

Or so he imagined.

Shifting slightly, Don subtly moved his body away from her own and slowly disengaged himself from her and rolled out of bed. Once standing he rubbed the sleep from his eyes and looked towards the digital clock across the room that he used to help him keep tack of time and frowned when he noted that it was past eight am.

Usually on a normal day- their mornings started at five and continued until nine or ten depending on Master Splinter's mood. But ever since the night Kira had become one of their family, Splinter had been allowing them to sleep more, checking on them while they all slept- getting himself into the old familiar pattern that he had used to raise them.

Of course this didn't mean that they could just laze about, after all stopping the Foot and the Purple Dragons were of great importance to them. It mearly meant that their father was driving them harder in different ways while trying to give Kira what she needed. It was a difficult task, but one that the turtles certainly didn't envy their master/father.

Don motioned for Leo to follow him to the door and had to stop and wait when he and his older brother heard Kira whimper in her sleep. Both turtles looked over their shoulders for a moment, half wondering if she was having another nightmare when she fell silent and simply rolled over- still sound asleep.

Once outside of the lab Don let out a loud yawn as Leo asked quietly, "So what brought her down here this time?"

"The usual." Don said as the two headed towards the kitchen where they could hear Mikey moving around, trying to fix their breakfast. They walked into the kitchen and Mikey paused just long enough to ask,

"Kira okay?"

"Yeah. She's fine Mikey."

"Are you sure? Cause she was missing again-" The orange clad turtle pointed out before going on to say, "Master Splinter nearly had a stroke when he came to check on us and couldn't find her." Mikey said as he pulled some yogurt and fruit out of the fridge to make Kira's breakfast/lunch along with an egg that he set down on the counter before reaching up to the top of the fridge where the bread was kept and pulling it from it's place.

Don made a noncommental sound as he made his way over to the coffee machine and grabbed his favorite mug from the cabinet and poured himself a cup of the steamy dark liquid, and took a small sip before saying, "Well of course Splinter is going to have a conniption upon finding his new baby missing. Remember some of the fits we used to give him when we were kids?"

"Yeah." Leo said as he remembered the first time he had run away from home.

"Of course." Mikey said as he recalled the first time Raph had flipped out on them all and taken one of his birthday presents, a skateboard that Don had managed to salvage from the dump and fix up with some paint- and broke it over his head causing their master/father to nearly scream the lair down around them.

"Then you should know that as the new baby of the family-" Don said, pausing to take another sip of his coffee before continuing, "Master Splinter will worry and fuss over her endlessly. Besides, she's good for him. Have you guys noticed that she's taken an interest in some of the things we never did?"

"Like what?" Both Mikey and Leo asked in unison.

"Like ink painting, and folklore- I even think yesterday Master Splinter broke out that old bamboo flute to teach her how to play it." Don said as his brothers stared at him for a moment before smiling. Yes, that sounded like something that their master/father would teach his daughter.

Something beautiful and tasteful, much like the girl herself. "I think I'm suddenly excited to hear her first song." Leo said as he leaned back against the counter as Mikey pulled out a frying pan and set it on the stove and turned on the eye so that the pan could heat up.

"Me too." Mikey said as he grabbed some cooking spray and a spatula.

Don smiled and then quickly finished off his coffee then said, "I need to get back to the lab just in case she wakes up. She has enough issues without abandonment issues becoming an issue too."

"Right. I'll come and get you both when breakfast is done." Leo said as Don made his way towards the door.


	8. Chapter 8

Click, click, click, click-

The rapid succession brought Kira back to conciousness with the feeling of annoyance as she tried to identify the clicking sound. It took a moment for her sleep muddled mind to realise that she was in the lab. Donatello's lab. On the cot in the far corner. Alone.

Which could only mean that her new brother was awake and working on his computer. Which explained all of that stupid clicking she was hearing. Rolling over on the bed, she wiped at her eyes with one hand while watching her new brother work. It was amazing really that Donatello could type so fast. Hell, it was amazing that he could type at all.

His fingers had to be much to thick for a conventional computer keyboard. Which puzzled her a bit. If his fingers were to thick for a conventional keyboard; then what sort of keyboard was he using? Was it a new model? Something that had just come out?

She didn't get it. But she didn't really question it. Not aloud anyways.

In the past two weeks she had learned that in order to spare herself from some of Donatello's lectures, she simply had to avoid certain questions. Asking about the mechanics of something that Don had possibly invented to use with his computer seemed to fall under the catagory of 'don't ask'.

Groaning Don sat back in his chair and stretched his arms up over his head, popping his shoulders and fingers before popping his neck and reaching for the coffee mug he kept with him as he turned in his chair and finally noticed that she was awake. "Kira, you're awake." He said as he put his mug back down and got up so that he could cross the room and loom over her.

One of his hands going straight for her dark hair and brushing the dark strands in her face, back, so that it rested over her slender shoulder. Right over her spine. "Did you sleep okay? Anymore nightmares?" He asked, concern coloring his tone. His dark brown eyes taking on a golden copper hue in the faint light.

Kira shook her head slowly and lifted a hand to rub at her eyes, still feeling a bit drowsy from her lack of sleep the night before.

He smiled down at her and stroked her hair a little bit, marveling at the downy softness of it as it slipped from between his fingers. It was as soft as a rabbits fur. Or the fur of a small kitten. He heard someone clear their throat from somewhere behind him and paused in mid stroke so that he could look over his shoulder at the intruder and saw Leo standing in the doorway to his lab.

"Breakfast is ready you two." Leo said in a bemused tone.

Don nodded his head and backed up so that Leo could come into the lab and get her so that he could carry her to the breakfast table since the fuzzy slipers they had gotten for her the other day had supposedly been destroyed by a freak flood in the bathroom. Where one had been flushed (or so they thought) down the toilet, and the other has simply been floating in the toilet water- shredded by a pair of scissors.

Apparently- they all mused- Kira held a deep rooted hatred of all things fuzzy. Which was why whenever they saw Klunk making a beeline toward her, they snatched the yellow tabby up and sent him on his way in the opposit direction of her.

Leo stopped next to the cot and leaned down and slipped his arms around Kira's small body and smiled a bit when he felt her little arms come up to wrap around his neck. "Hey Kira-chan-" Leo greeted as he settled her in his arms. His voice warm and sweet like honey. "Ready for breakfast?" He asked, only to have her lay her head on his shoulder and try to stiffle a yawn.

Making him chuckle in amusement as he made his way out of the lab, pausing only long enough to peer over Kira's head to see if Don was coming. Don walked past him muttering under his breath about something when Leo fell into step behind him.

Leaving Leo to fill the silence by talking to Kira. "Guess what we're going to do today kiddo?"

Kira lifted her head from his shoulder slightly and looked up at him as if to say, _"What?" _

"After breakfast master Splinter and the rest of us are going to sit down with you and watch movies. All Disney, all day. And you get to pick the order we watch them in." He said in an tone meant to entice her. But all it did was seem to turn her off of the idea if the way she dropped her head back to his shoulder was any indication at all.

Frowning he patted her back and tried again. "Come on. It'll be fun." only to have Kira shut him down by rubbing her face back and forth against his shoulder with a little shake of her head.

"Okay so if you don't want to watch any Disney movies then what do you want to do?" He asked curiously, hoping to get her to speak. It didn't work, dammit. She was still as silent as a grave. Sighing Leo shifted his hold on her slightly and thought to himself, _Well today is going to be a blast_.


	9. Chapter 9

Kira sat at the breakfast table with her new 'family' eating her piece of toast with all the enthusiasm of someone being forced to eat cardboard. Her bites were small, and measured as she listened to everyone at the table talk all at once about their plans for the day. "I say we start with the fox and the hound." Mikey said as he stuffed a third of a pancake in his mouth then grabbed the maple syrup on the table and downed half of it then swallowed.

"Ew, Mikey. Use your table manners, geez-" Don said before saying, "I'd rather have my right arm amputated than watch the fox and the hound again. How about something else? Anastasia maybe?"

"Oh come on Don- We want Kira to have fun. Not be bored to tears." Raph growled around a mouthful of his breakfast.

"Well excuse me," Don hissed in a miffed tone that Kira had never heard before from the usually quiet turtle. "But I happen to like the history surrounding the story."

"And it helps that it has music to entertain Kira-chan." Splinter said, finally deciding to add his two cents to the conversation. Don grinned at his sensei and propped his chin up on the heel of his hand and said,

"That too."

"How about the little mermaid?" Leo suggested, figuring that it was a safe enough movie for Kira to watch when Raph said.

"You wanna show a movie to our baby sister where some girl swims around the ocean with sea shells on her breasts. Are you insaine? What sort of message would that send to her?"

"That having boobies is awesome- _Ow_!" Mikey yelped as Splinter struck him on the head with his cane before growling.

"You will never say such a thing again! You're sister is a young lady and we will not sit here and discuss her- er, future attributes."

"Calm down sensei, it was just a joke... Man, I can't say anything without getting hit." Mikey groused as Kira finished off what was left of her breakfast and licked her fingertips clean before scooting back in her chair, noting that everyone had gone deathly silent as she collected her dishes and started to stand when Mikey stood up and took the dishes from her and said awkwardly,

"Sorry Kira. I wasn't trying to be a pervert or anything. It really was just a joke-" He said as he leaned down and kissed her on her forehead then turned and headed for the sink. She sighed and rubbed the place he'd kissed her for a second before feeling a large three fingered hand on her left shoulder and glanced to the side wondering which one of her 'brothers' wanted her attention this time.

As it would turn out- it was Raphael. The red masked turtle gave her an expression that was part smile part grimace, a look that would have scared most people to tears if she didn't already know that like Mikey, Raph was awkward. Both physically and emotionally.

He was one of the strongest of his three brothers- yet at the same time he seemed crippled. The same could be said for his emotions, he had passion, a fierce need for independance- to be his own person, but with no direction. And without direction those things were useless.

Well, sort of anyways.

He could still be his own person and he could put his passion to great use in his work and with his family. She just wondered if he realized that yet as he scooped her up and held her at eye level and said something. But she was so deep in thought that she didn't hear him until Don, Leo and the others were all on their feet crowding Raph- Don's hand waving in front of her face.

She twitched then blinked and looked at him, her eyes boring into his skull as he asked, "Kira? Kira you okay?" She nodded her head slowly. She hadn't meant to scare them. She was just thinking.

Raph sighed and started to hand her off to Mikey, figuring that maybe she had froze up because of him or something when he felt her little hand wind around one of his mask tails and tug on it lightly.

Pausing for a second he frowned and let her play with his mask tail. When she showed no signs of distress or wanting down, he held her a little tighter. bringing her just a little closer and wondered why it was that a small child- a human no less- would be the only female to ever look past his frightening exterior and see that maybe there was more to him than just a brute.

The only other person he'd known that looked that deep (aside from Splinter) had been Casey. "And now there's you..." He said more to himself than her, his voice drifting off to a low churr that seemed to absolutely facinate her if the way she placed her little fingers against his throat was any indication. He smiled at this and churred a little louder, the sound vibrating in his chest and was more than a bit surprised when he heard a faint churr like sound come from Kira's throat.

Behind him he heard and felt his brothers close in on them even more and wanted to snap at them to back the fuck off, but kept his mouth closed and continued to churr while Don asked, "Is she churring?"

"She is." Mikey replied looking outright stunned.

"I didn't know human's could churr." Leo said.

"They can't. Some might be able to mimic certain sounds. But they don't churr."

"Then how do you explain this?" Mikey said pointing to both Raph and Kira who seemed to be off in their own little world.

"I think she likes Raph."

"No shit."

"No shit."

"Huh. Who would have guessed that she'd like the hothead before you Leo- OW!" Mikey yelped, loudly enough to nearly cause Kira to jump out of her skin and piss Raph off at the same time as Mikey hopped around on his uninjured foot. "What the hell did you do that for Leo?" Mikey demanded between breaths. It felt like his foot was broken!

Leo gave him a cold look. "Do what?" He asked calmly, already planning to drop his heavy katana's on Mikey's foot again if he didn't shut his mouth, while Splinter took hold of Kira and carefully pried the child from Raph's arms before she wound up crushed or something by his second eldest son's grip.

Well, this day was quickly spinning out of control for his children.

What had happened to Leo's suggestion of good will and family bonding? Suddenly Mikey let out a whoop and jumped on Leo and started throwing punches- This unbelieveable spectacle was then joined by Raphael, much to Splinter's disbelief as he pulled Kira tighter against his front and eyed his three son's warily and sighed.

Damn, looks like the three would be stuck running laps around the lair instead of bonding with their little sister. "Donatello, please take Kira-chan and start the movie marathon without us." Splinter said as he gently pushed his daughter against Don's legs. Don doubled over and wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her up out of the way as Splinter rolled up his sleeves and then jumped into the pile of children in such need of discipline, allowing Don to leave the kitchen with Kira- thanks to a small opening Splinter had made for them.


	10. Chapter 10

"Okay Kira, here we go. Anastasia," Don said as sat down on the couch next to his sister and wrapped one arm around her as he settled down and picked up the VCR remote. "It's a great movie with plenty of disney action-goodness. And I think you'll really like it." He said as he started the movie. Kira curled up against his side and watched the beginning and blinked at the heart wrenching scene where little Anastasia was seperated from her father- and felt herself pushing away from Donatello a little bit so that she could lean forward.

Don watched Kira like a hawk, suddenly thinking that maybe he should have started off with The little Mermaid after all. He had forgotten that little Anastasia's family either got seperated from her or killed at the start of the movie.

Which would be like re-living Kira's own pain and loss. _God I'm such an idiot- _Don thought in disgust as he suddenly turned the movie off and reached out and pulled Kira back against his chest and ran his fingers through her thick, dark hair. Trying to sooth her as she hid her face against his plasteron and started crying quietly.

"Oh Kira... I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I completely forgot about what happens in the beginning of the movie." Don said softly, his heart aching in his chest as Splinter suddenly appeared and looked at the pained expression on Don's face then at his youngest child and sighed.

"Donatello, let me take Kira." Splinter said as he reached out and gently pried the distraught child from his son. Kira curled up in his arms and buried her face against his neck and let out a small wail as her tears soaked his fur. Splinter took a moment to rub her back and speak softly to her in japanese. Telling her that he would raise her to be someone that her parents would be proud of.

Someone that he and her new siblings would be proud of.

He told her that they would never leave her. That they would always be with her. _No. Matter. What. _Then glanced at Donatello again and noted that his son was quietly watching them before saying, "I forgot how the story of Anastasia started-"

"It is not the story that upset her, my son. It is the fact that she so recently lost her biological family and had her life uprooted." Splinter said as he continued to rub Kira's back.

"I still should have remembered-" Don said. Splinter shook his head and gave his son a sad smile.

"My son, you did not make a mistake for which you should apologize. Kira's wounds will heal with time, patience, and understanding. As her new family, she needs these things from each of us." Splinter said as he stopped rubbing Kira's back long enough to reach out and gently pat Donatello on the arm. Donatello hung his head as Splinter brushed past him and disappeared around the couch and into his room, carrying his newest child as if she weighed no more than a mere pebble.

Once in his room, Splinter walked over to his bed. The slight sway of his body as he moved had lulled Kira into a semi sleepy state as she clung to her new father. Setting Kira down, Splinter then walked over to a small wooden chest that Donatello and the others had made for his birthday one year back when they were children. And carefully opened the lid and pulled out an origami flower and crane and then walked back over to Kira and pressed them into her little hands and said, "You know, back when your brothers were still young- perhaps even younger than you- they would spend hours sitting here in my room, folding paper and playing with it like normal children. For many years those pieces of paper were the only real joy they had as children. They used to wish to be normal so badly that they began to hate themselves for being different-"

Reaching out he gently wiped the tears from her face with his thumbs and then slipped a hand under her chin and tilted her head up a bit so that he could look into her eyes and gave her a fatherly smile. "I want you to keep those with you, little one. As a reminder- not to hate yourself for something you could not have stopped and as a reminder that you'll always have a family and a place to call home."

Kira looked down at the little crane and flower and then back at her new father, and blinked red rimmed eyes as Splinter asked, "Would you like to play with them while I meditate for a little while?" Not really knowing what to do, she nodded her head and Splinter smiled again and ruffled her hair affectionately.

"Good. Come sit next to me." He said as she climbed off of his bed and followed him over to a couple of mats on the floor...

(************************************************* *********************************************)

The second Splinter had taken Kira from the room, Don was up and out of the living room. Making his way back to his lab, he all but slammed the heavy door behind him and dropped down into his computer chair and buried his face in shaking hands. _Fuck, how could he have been so cruel as not to think about how the Disney movie would affect Kira? Was he an idiot or something? _He wondered as he closed his eyes and got a flashback to the other night.

He could see Kira staring blankly at her parents corpses, her face pale, her eyes red and glassy looking. There had been a brief flash of disbelief followed by shock then horror on her face before her expression had blanked. The other's hadn't noticed- but he had. And despite what others may think, he was trying to be patient and kind and understanding.

He knew that losing one parent was bad but both at the same time, and in such a horrible way- was heartbreaking and traumatizing in ways that he couldn't even begin to understand.

Sighing he lifted his head from his hands, noting vaquely that they were shaking a bit less now. But that didn't mean that he wasn't still upset. He was. And he would have to take his mind off of things for a bit before he well and truely settled down.


	11. Chapter 11

After the breakfast fiasco, Splinter had dragged Leo, Raph and Mikey out of the kitchen and into the training area where he then got them started on running laps. A thousand of them. In an hour or less. So to say that the three literally fell to their knees exhausted and dripping with sweat an hour later, wouldn't be an understatment.

After all running that many laps tended to push their bodies harder- made it more difficult to breathe... Their muscles burned with fatigue, their hearts pounded so hard it felt like they were trying to punch they're way through their shells, they could literally feel the ebb and flow of the blood in their veins.

All three of them either sat or lay on the cool stone floor trying to catch their breath when Mikey asked, "Do you think Don listened at breakfast? Ya know, about not playing the movie he wanted for Kira?"

Both Leo and Raph looked at him tiredly before Raph replied between pants. "I don't think he did. All he can think of is the story that inspired the movie. He's probably forgotten about the bad stuff that happens at the beginning of the movie. He's stubborn that way."

Mikey made a noncommental sound and flopped over onto his back and closed his eyes before saying between breaths, "But it would upset Kira to see something like that. Especially so soon." Mikey sighed, "Maybe we should have just played tea party or dress up with her."

"I ain't no girl. I'm not playing tea party." Raph growled as Leo reached over and smacked him in the back of the head and snapped.

"If Kira wants you to play tea party or dress up with her, consider youself a damn girl and deal with it."

"No!" Raph snarled back at Leo, earning a dark look from his elder brother before Mikey said.

"I would. But then, I'm a good brother." To which Raph slowly turned his head to gape at him in slack jawed disbelief. Of all the things he could imagine Mikey saying, that hadn't been one of them. Was he trying to point out that he was a bad brother? Raph wondered in irritation. Cause if Mikey was trying to say that he was a bad brother, then the next time he saw him sewer skating- he wouldn't save him from any possible bone breaking injuries like he had last time.

The jerk.

"Just do it Raph," Leo said in a gentler tone catching his hot headed brother off guard a little bit. "Kira is the only female down here in a home belonging to nothing but bachelors. Growing up here will be difficult for her as she gets older. She won't have any girlfriends to talk to. Friends to hang with. We were lucky. We _had_ each other. We still do. There will be times when Kira will be so lonely that she'll long to be a part of the world above again- and when that happens, we have to be there for her."

Mikey rolled over onto his side facing his two older brothers and blinked his pale blue eyes rapidly to keep his eyes from stinging with tears. He didn't want his new baby sister to feel lonely. Ever.

But he knew that Leo was right.

There would be times that Kira would long for the surface and everything it offered despite the fact that they had taken her in. It would only be natural for her to want those things. To go to school. To make friends. Fall in love and marry and start a family of her own. To do everything that they couldn't do... He frowned for a second as a feeling took root in his heart.

Could he maybe be jealous? Mikey wondered as he tried to place his finger on the feeling, but it was difficult to place when he felt so many different things at once.

"I think we should go see what Don and Kira are up too." Leo finally said after a moment or so. Both Raph and Mikey nodded and carefully pushed themselves up so that they were standing as Leo climbed to his feet.


	12. Chapter 12

One month later-

Kira peeked into the dojo to find her brothers all engaged in their morning training and saw her father, Splinter turn his head just a bit to look at her and squeaked and ducked back behind the door a bit. Splinter smiled kindly and slowly rose from his position on the floor and spoke in a strange language- stopping her brothers from their attempts to pummel each other into the ground before Splinter said, "Kira-chan. Would you like to come sit and watch your brothers train?"

Kira peeked back into the room in an almost shy manner, her dark hair falling partially in her face as she considered her father's question.

It had been over a month since she had been taken in by her new family and while she still had nightmares about her biological family at night, she rather liked her new family. They were a mite on the odd side, sure, but at least they took care of her and tried to include her in everything they did.

Except for the fighting.

For some reason that she couldn't really fathom, they had tried to hide it from her at first. (Even though she could more or less guess why they had such powerfully built bodies and carried weapons on them all the time) It was as if they had been worried that having her know that they went out every night to fight bad guys was a bad thing.

To be honest it was perhaps a little naieve of her, but she didn't see it as a bad thing as long as they came home okay.

Though there had been several times over the past month or so that one or more had come back to their home suffering from stab wounds, gunshots and so on- and though she hated to show it, she always fell apart when that happened. Embarrassing herself and taking away from her brothers the attention they so desperately needed.

She felt a large hand on top of her head and jumped a little bit in response. Crap, she must have spaced out for so long that one of her brothers had managed to sneak up on her.

She tipped her head back and looked up to see who was ruffling her hair and saw that it was Mikey. The orange mask and pale green skin along with the huge toothy smile giving him away. "Hey, wanna come watch us? We shouldn't be much longer and Master Splinter is going to get in on the action." He said coaxingly.

Kira tilted her head to the side a bit and thought for a moment before Mikey gave a frustrated huff and simply grabbed her wrist in a firm but gentle grip and started to pull her into the dojo.

She yelped and kicked out a leg automatically in reflex, not liking the fact that she was being forced into the room when she could just walk in herself, and managed to hook her foot behind one of Mikey's ankles. And shifted her body so that his leg went out from under him while slamming her tiny shoulder against his side between his plasteron and shell and sent them both sprawling to the mats at Splinter's feet.

Splinter looked down at his two youngest children, his eyes wide in surprise (he hadn't known that Kira was capable of doing such a thing to one of her brothers) as the others came over to help both Mikey and Kira up.

"Mikey!" Donatello nearly shouted as he and Raphael rushed over with Leonardo right on their heels.

"Kira!" Raph exclaimed in a slightly horrified tone as he took in the sight of his baby sister partially draped across Mikey's shell looking more than a little dazed from the fall. "Mikey, what the hell!"

"Ugh... I'm the one who got my foot kicked out from under me for no reason and you decide to scream at _me_. Dude, there is something _so_ wrong with you." Mikey groaned as he shifted under Kira's slight weight and turned his head to glare up at Raph who was reaching down to help Kira to her feet, his expression worried.

"Something wrong with me- You're the ninja dropout that just had your ass kicked by a teeny bopper." Raph sniped back at him as Master Splinter and Leo both watched the exchange from just a foot or so away. It seemed that little Kira had been picking up some moves from watching Raph and Mikey rough house or something.

It was astonishing really since she usually seemed to be busy checking out the books that Donatello had collected over the years, or watching soaps with Splinter. Seemingly ignoring all else that happened around the lair.

Once she was on her feet Kira made the churring sound to thank her brother for his help, earning a silly looking grin from Raph before she looked over at Mikey who was now back on his feet and studying her. His blue eyes partially calculating and partially concerned as he asked, "You okay Kira? You didn't get hurt when we went down did you?"

She made a chirping sound that she had picked up from Klunk to let him know that she was okay along with a bashful smile as he let out a breath and said playfully, "Whew, dodged that ass kicking." Kira chirped again and Mikey laughed as he reached down and scooped her up. "That was a nice move you pulled just now. You know not many people can knock me over like that..." Turning to Splinter Mikey then asked, "Sensei is Kira going to be trained to fight when she's older?"

Splinter looked at his two youngest children for a moment, considering his options before saying. "She will. But only the basics so that she may defend herself if the need ever arises. She will not be a ninja as all of you are."

Mikey gave Splinter a 'Huh' look while his other sons all gave him a disbelieving look as he suddenly said, "Practice is over for today-" And made a quick beeline for the door. No doubt his son's would wonder about his desicion not to train Kira to be a ninja, and right now he didn't want to try explaining himself.


	13. Chapter 13

_What the hell? _The turtles all thought in dismay and confusion. _What the hell was sensei thinking? _

To have a female family member raised among them was one thing but to not train her to be a ninja like they were was quite another. Even they knew that the score of enemies they had would attack Kira first in an attempt to wipe them all out. Because her vulnerability made them vulnerable too. All it would take is one bought with the Shredder or Bishop and their family would be doomed.

Surely Splinter knew this, he wasn't stupid after all.

He had lived many years using just his cunning to survive. And that was the same cunning that he had instilled in them per each ninjutsu lesson. So why- why when asked to train Kira- did he balk? Had he even thought over the ramifications if he didn't train her?

The four brothers doubted it since he had denied that he would train her so quickly before leaving the dojo to go to his room.

Kira tugged on Mikey's mask tails to get his attention and made a soft almost forelorn sound. Mikey attempted to smile but couldn't seem to get his facial muscles to work right so instead thought it best to give her a small peck on the temple as he whispered that everything would be fine then turned to face his brothers. Each of them looking at Kira in a peculiar fashion.

(************************************************* ***************************************)

They knew something that she didn't.

Kira could tell by the way that they looked at her before quickly masking their expressions. Something was wrong. Very wrong. Something that had to do with her new father's answer to Mikey's earlier question. _What was wrong? _Was it her? She wondered as each of her brothers either yawned or mumbled about needing to be somewhere else and vanished out the dojo door before she could so much as snag one of their wrists.

Each of them heading to different places in the lair and leaving her alone.

Kira sighed tiredly, keeping up with the emotions of her new family was tiring work. And she often spent far too much energy trying to figure out what they needed or wanted because their body language was deceptive. _They_ in a round about way were deceptive.

Sure, she knew that her new father and brothers cared for her- they fed her, clothed her, took care of her education and emotional needs. But what about everything else?

Why just last month she had seen a TV commercial for a floral company and had pointed out a particular floral arrangement with yellow tulips, babysbreath, sunflowers and orange roses.

Two nights after pointing it out she had gotten her flowers. But Raphael had gotten beaten up so badly by some jerks that he'd almost died. So she didn't dare ask for anything again. Not when the dryed flowers sitting in her room served as a reminder of what her childish selfishness could have cost her new family. And what the scars on Raph reminded her of everyday.

She was more than a little surprised that he didn't hate her for that incident. But then she had noticed that he and the rest of her brothers followed their father's word like it was law. Whatever Splinter said, went.

"What if someday Splinter wants me gone?" She said aloud to herself as she looked down at her feet, unaware that Splinter was standing outside of the dojo waiting for her to leave so that he could meditate.

Hearing her speak as if she felt he could just up and abandon her stung him in ways that none of his children had ever managed to hurt him before. But he supposed that he could not blame her for thinking such things. After all, she was human... And he and his sons were mutants.

This was a gap that could never be crossed no matter how hard they all may try.

He could only hope that if a confrontation with the Shredder or Bishop occurred that his life would be enough to spare her and his son's the horrors of being held at the hands of those monsters.


	14. Chapter 14

To Lillian,

You're the sick one here.

If you had been paying any attention to previous chapters you would realize that Splinter does have his reasons for not training Kira to be a nin. And aside from that, he does plan to train her in basic self defense.

She isn't going to be forced to do anything she doesn't want to do.

And besides this is a harem story. Of course she's going to be taking each of the turtles at one point or another but not until she's older and decides that it's what she wants.

I've said it before kittens and I mean it, if you can't give constructive criticisim- then don't read _or_ review.

This is **_fanfiction_** people. A place to exercise our minds and be creative. I honestly don't give a damn about the rules of the site or the feelings of who whines about my stories. But I'll be damned if someone is going to tell me what to write or try to make me feel bad for what I write just because that person wants to be an ass.

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Several days later-

Leo was walking through the lair. Attempting to gather everyone for lunch when he saw Splinter standing outside of the dojo. His body frozen as he watched something or someone through a small opening in the doors. The blue banded turtle quietly walked up to his father/master intending to ask him to reconsider training Kira to be a ninja when Splinter, without turning his head- held up a hand and motioned for him to stay silent.

Curious Leo blinked and moved to stand next to his master/father, and peeked through the door and bit back a small sound of surprise. Or perhaps it was alarm.

Both pairs of eyes noting, and never leaving the small figure in the training area.

For the past several days since Splinter's refusal to train her- Splinter had noticed that Kira would disappear from where ever they gathered as a family and would lock herself in the dojo and go over kata's that she had learned from watching his son's, before she would walk over to the weapons wall and pick a weapon to work with for the day.

And then she would work with it and do more kata's until she collapsed.

Today she had chosen to work on throwing kunai and shuriken at the target that she had set up across the room, inbetween doing the same kata's that Leonardo did everyday. And so far she had managed to hit the target dead on twenty times. Not bad. Not bad at all.

It was amazing how easily she picked up the skill when his son's had practiced everyday since they were ten just to be half as accurate. He glanced at Leonardo out of the corner of his eye and saw the look of pride on his eldest son's face as his face split into a brilliant smile And Splinter suddenly felt torn between feeling pride himself, in his youngest obvious ability, and going into the dojo and sternly telling Kira that she should give up.

He would _not_ train her and he expected her to obey his wishes however unreasonable they may seem to her.

He did have his reasons.

Kira finished her latest set of kata's and then stretched so that she could try doing gymnastics using some of the pipes overhead. It was upon realizing this that Splinter nearly tripped over his feet trying to get into the dojo just as she started to climb up.

The sound of the door slamming open causing her to look over her shoulder then suddenly lose her grip and slip and fall. A frightened scream made it's way from her throat as her small body hit the training mats with a loud thud. Her head, back and chest suddenly aching so badly that she couldn't breathe as Splinter and Leo both made their way over to her- calling her name.

Her vision blurred as she tried to catch her breath.

Splinter dropped to his knees beside his daughter and carefully slipped an arm under her shoulders and lifted her up as he shot Leonardo a look and barked out, "Get Donatello!"

Leo faltered for a second in his trek to see if his little sister was alright as his father bared his fangs at him for a moment and for the second time in his life, raised his voice to him. "Stop standing there and go get Donatello!"

"Wha? But-"

"No 'buts', go now-" Splinter nearly shouted as he gathered his wheezing and crying daughter up in his arms and settled her in his lap and spoke to her in a low soothing tone as he gently wiped the tears from her face with his thumbs, his dark brown eyes sad as Leo barreled out of the room to get Don. "Hush don't waste your energy crying. Just try to breathe little one," Splinter said in a gentler tone as he looked over his daughter.

Her face was pale, and her lips were starting to turn a faint bluish tint from lack of oxygen- alarming him.

Just how had she landed to cause such problems breathing? Had she somehow damaged her neck or her internal organs? Splinter wondered as Donatello came running through the dojo doors, in one hand he carried the old leather satchle he kept many of his first aid tools in and in his other hand was some strange looking device with a cleave mask attached to it and right behind him were his three brothers.

Each one came into the dojo and quietly took up positions around the room as Don opened his satchle and pulled out several things as Kira's wheezing got weaker and weaker and finally went silent as her eyes fluttered closed, and the room fell eeriely quiet aside from Donatello's rapid movements.

"Kira!" Splinter and his son's all cried out in alarm as Don quickly worked to figure out the problem. After listening to Kira's heartbeat and lungs it was easy to duduce that Kira's fall had somehow caused her neck to become injured in such a way that her throat had closed up and her lungs couldn't get any air.

After feeling of her neck, Don found the problem area and looked at his father and said in his calmest tone, "Put Kira down. I need to brace her neck and put a plastic tube down her throat to help her breathe or she'll die." Splinter tightened his hold on her for a moment, his expression helpless and perhaps hurt, but he quickly did as Donatello bid him and then moved back as Don called Leo over to help hold Kira still just in case she awoke when he was putting the tube down her throat.

Don explained that having a tube snaking down ones throat could be a rather unpleasant experience and fighting against it was a perfectly natrual reaction unless every bone in one's body was broken.


	15. Chapter 15

An hour after accident-

Don pulled the fresh sheets of the cot in his lab, up over Kira's prone figure and looked up away from her eerily still figure and the home made oxygen machine that was breathing for her at the moment and found his brothers and worried looking sensei standing just a few feet behind him.

"Donatello... Is Kira's neck broken?" Splinter asked tentatively after what felt like forever.

Donatello considered his father and brothers before replying in a professional tone. "No, she lucked out there," Don said seriously before continuing, "But the way she landed must have caused her throat to swell closed. She'll need the neck brace for a while. Maybe a few weeks- and the oxygen machine too- at least until the swelling goes down. Until then, she'll rest here where I can observe her condition."

"B-But she will be okay? Right?" Raph asked as he looked back and forth from Don to Kira's prone figure, his expression somewhat panicked.

In the short time that Kira had been with them, the red banded turtle had taken to the girl like a fish took to water. They were never far apart from each other. So natrually seeing Kira hurt and laying unconscious and hooked up to machines would freak him out.

But then Raph wasn't the only one freaking out. They all were.

Splinter's stress levels, as their father- was currently through the roof because Kira had almost come within a hairsbreath of dying on them. This was understandable to Don since the elderly rat was as responsible for Kira's life as they were.

Leo was upset; though like Don he managed to hide it well behind a veil of professionalism that made it look, for all appearances, like he had ice in his veins. After all, as ninja they dealt with serious injuries and sometimes even death. Often times more than any of them cared to admit.

Mikey- as the baby of the family who had always wanted a younger sibling- was thinking about what he could do to help when Splinter put a paw on one of his shoulders and drew his eyes from Kira and said, "I will take first watch. Leonardo I want you to take Raphael and run a special errand for me. Michelagilo, I need you to do two things- 1) Pull out your art set and make a get well card that your brothers and I can sign. And I'll clue you into what number two is once Leonardo and Raphael have the specifics of their errand. In the mean time, Donatello, you shall rest for the upcoming night. It will doubtless be very tiring for you."

Don shrugged his shoulders and smiled a little. "I'm used to it."

"Yes," Splinter said before pointing out. "You have grown used to seeing your brothers in Kira's place. But having a younger sister, one that cannot defend herself, become injured- is considerably different." Don stared at his sensei for a moment and sighed as his shoulders dropped a bit.

_Damn,_ sensei was right.

Beneath Don's veil of professionalism, he was scared inside. Scared that Kira had done more damage to her body than he was aware of, scared that she might never wake up or that she may have brain damage from lack of oxygen... Why it was all he could do not to just start biting his already short nails! He was _so-freaking-anxious._

"Alright. I'll rest for a bit while the rest of you do your thing. I assume that I don't have to tell you to come and get me if anything happens." Splinter gave him a glare that spoke volumes of how Donatello would suffer a good smack to the back of the head if he spoke to the rat in an more condecending tone.


End file.
